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Since his arrest, Paul Byrd has lingered in both legal and financial limbo.

Byrd, who worked under five superintendents, was eyeing the end of his career with the district, which began in 1985. He entered Florida’s Deferred Retirement Option Program, or DROP, in 2012 and was set to retire in 2017.

But he was forced to jettison his plans after his arrest Feb. 28, 2014, on charges including trafficking in cocaine. Byrd resigned immediately after his arrest.

Had he kept his job until the end of DROP, he would have received a pension benefit of nearly $4,900 a month and a lump sum payout of more than $260,000, according to state personnel records. His resignation reduced what he could receive to about $4,350 a month and a lump sum of $78,550.

But now, his retirement benefits are on hold pending the outcome of his case, according to the Florida Department of Management Services. And he could lose them altogether if he’s convicted. Public employees face forfeiture of their retirement for committing specified crimes or others that defraud the public of their “faithful performance” or duties.

A key issue in retirement forfeiture cases is the connection between the crime and the job, said Bob Klausner, a Plantation attorney. If he was using his school truck to transport illegal substances, the argument could be made it was not a faithful performance of his duties, he said.

Public employees who lose their benefits can challenge it in administrative court. But they’re not often successful.

“The courts have been very unforgiving,” Klausner said. “If you commit a crime and you’re a public officer or employee, you lose your pension. Kings and knaves all pretty much get the same treatment.”

Contact Jeff Burlew at jburlew@tallahassee.com or follow @JeffBurlew on Twitter.